1. Field of the Invention
The field of this invention is directed to tanks and more particularly to a bait tank which is designed to be fixedly mounted on the deck of a boat or ship which is to be utilized to keep the bait, such as small fish, alive until such are used.
2. Description of Prior Art
Bait tanks have long been used on board boats and ships in conjunction with the sport of fishing. The purpose of the bait tank is to provide an environment to contain in a confined manner live bait which is usually small fish. These bait tanks include a supply of water and the bait of the fish are to be contained within that water.
The bait tanks of the prior art have certain deficiencies. Normally it is desirable to fix in position the bait tank to the deck of the boat or ship. This fixing usually employs some kind of a mounting bracket, such as an L-shaped bracket, one leg of which is fixed to the bait tank and the opposite leg is fixedly secured by a fastener to the deck of the boat or ship. These type of brackets in the past have provided convenient "toe stubbers" for fishermen to trip over when walking past the bait tank.
Additionally, prior art bait tanks have merely directed the water into the tank without any consideration being given to the inlet direction. The result is the water swirls or becomes turbulent. Fish like to swim against the current. The result is the fish swim in a criss cross pattern bumping into one another resulting in scale loss which causes the fish to die.
Osmotic regulation (scale loss) is the primary cause of death for bait fish held in captivity. The interior wall surface of bait tanks of the prior art include several protrusions which the fish bump into when swimming within the tank. This causes the fish to lose their scales and die prematurely.